The U.S. Department of Agriculture has cut more than $1 billion in federal programs that gave schools and food banks funding to purchase food from local farms and ranchers ― a move that school lunch advocates say will take away free meals from millions of children whose parents are grappling with rising grocery prices.

The U.S. Agriculture Department has cut two federal programs that spent over $1 billion annually to help schools and food banks buy food from local farms and ranches, the agency has confirmed to Reuters.

Florida school partners were slated to receive an estimated $42,583,882 in 2025 from the LFS program. Meanwhile, the state was expecting to receive a combined total of $22,439,038 from the LFPA programs, according to the USDA website.